30 and 1

The days have gone by fast. I've been unemployed now for twenty days and I've been loving it! That doesn't mean I haven't been looking for a job though. I already have a follow up interview scheduled for Tuesday. This job is only part time, but it's something that will give me experience working with children in a classroom environment while I'm finishing my classes toward a Child Development certificate. 

I've really been enjoying my time off though. Adam took two days off last week to watch the opening round of March Madness. We spent the whole weekend lazing around together and I LOVED IT! I've been baking too many sweets though. I've kept my weight down, but that is simply because I'm eating less than I did when I was working (stress), not healthier. I really felt that at the gym today. I've been working out more than when I was commuting four hours a day, but I feel somewhat weak. I just need to better my eating habits and keep putting in effort at the gym.

Adam celebrated his 30th this year and we celebrated our 1st Anniversary! It's hard to believe that the year went by so fast, but I love this marriage!

Below is a short picture calendar of things I've done since my last post...

I threw random stuff together for a little pizza dinner

My nephew Ashton made me a house for my birthday!

We had a big BBQ get together for Adam at his brother's the day after his birthday, so ON his birthday, I  made him a simple meal and dessert.

Carne Asada on a bed of Spinach with Cilantro dressing

Layered strawberry shortcake topped with ice cream. It's just yellow cake, strawberries, and cool whip

Blow out that candle!

It's Always Something, Right?

For the past seven months of newlyweddedness, there seems to arise from out of nowhere a huge expense that hinders us from our savings goal... I have mentioned this in my blog before. Last week I was thinking how nice it was that we had made it through so many crazy large expenses and haven't incurred any debt from it and how nice it would be this month to be free of a large expense. But wait, it's only mid-month...what's it going to be this time? Well, Adam's truck was making weird noises and a light went on that shouldn't have been lit. Adam did the right thing and took the truck in to the shop first thing Monday morning. Rats had gotten in the bottom of the truck and chewed up the wires. There is our big expense - almost $1000. When will it end? The holidays are approaching, we really want to get a place of our own, and who knows if my job will last past March.

On the positive side of things, we are really happy. My classes are getting to be very overwhelming, but I'm happy to be learning and I am looking forward to the possibilities it could bring. Adam is excited to start reffing and he loves his day job too. We got to attend a beautiful wedding reception for our friends Kate & Tucker who we are so happy for! Also provided us time to catch up with other friends we haven't seen in way too long. We have a change in our church callings coming up that are very exciting. Darci & Joanna visited me as we baked homemade pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! I really have missed those wonderful women and the cookies turned out really well. Adam and I spent time with great friends carving pumpkins and playing with their kids. Well, I gutted our pumpkin, but Erin carved it because Adam and I didn't want to and Chris ended up carving Erin's - thank you, Erin!! It looks really good! I'll try to get the pics from Christina & Josh who hosted the fun night. I literally tried to walk out the door with Scarlett but Adam made me give her back, haha. But I really did have a good time observing the kids play and I was able to apply what I've been learning in class as I played with them. Adam and Hunter were a fun sight to see play fighting. Adam was sweating pretty good there at the end and Hunter has a really cute giggle. We also got to see Adam's brother Mike briefly as the Packers defeated the Vikings and finally, we made it to see my mom and dad briefly as well. Thanks for the shredder, Mom! Adam has already cleared up a good amount of papers!

When I got home last night, I tried a new quinoa recipe...meh. Not that great. Too lemony and after I made the dressing that is supposed to be mixed in, I decided by taste that the quinoa would be better without it, so I felt very wasteful. However, I am so thrilled that Adam's mom sent me the polenta recipe that she made for us last time we visited Santa Barbara! It was delicious and I hope I can make it as successfully as she did! 

A Case FOR the Mondays

In yesterday's blog I forgot to mention the funniest thing that happened over the weekend. You may not think it was funny, but if you were there - the timing was perfect for a nice long deep-bellied laugh.

Adam was irritated with traffic on the way to Uncle Carlos' house. We saw that in the far right lane, they were much slower and we saw two guys on motorcycles that looked like cops. Adam grew frustrated and expressed that he does not like it when people try to look like cops...especially in pairs or packs. I asked why they do it. He responded, "because they're morons." As he was finishing, I read aloud, "Funeral Security." Sure enough we passed them and saw a procession of cars including a hearse. The funeral is not funny, of course, but it was funny that Adam thought they were fake cops and he was not happy about it. Hahahaha...we had a good laugh...especially me. 

Light Pizza

I made another meal last night! The meat we bought for one of the other meals went bad...we kept thinking we were about to make the meal and then something would come up where we were going to eat at a birthday or a wedding or my mom's. So that recipe went away. But last night I did make a REALLY easy recipe. It's called Light Pizza and I really liked it! It was just a small whole wheat pita, pesto, fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella. But I added pepperoni, so I'm sure it was more than just the 350 calories which the recipe estimates. I was still down two pounds this morning though! I think I had something bad for lunch yesterday though...maybe the hot chocolate, maybe the spinach, but my stomach was very upset. So Adam and I both didn't feel well last night, but we still managed to enjoy a Family Home Evening reviewing Elder Uchtdorf's latest conference address, singing a hymn, and going over our Patriarchal Blessings. All of it was very needed after the emotional week I experienced last week. My Heavenly Father loves me. I need to slow down and focus on what is important. Doing more won't help me get through these next two months faster. Just focus on what is best and let the Lord help me with the rest.  Mondays can be a really great day of the week if you let it!

And Happy Birthday to one of the greatest friends anyone could ask for - Jason Ohlwiler!

Jason & Ashleigh in Lake Powell 2008

Miles of Fun and Miles to Go

We did quite a bit of driving this weekend, but all in the name of family, friends, and fun! Saturday morning Adam and I finally got to sleep in...something I've REALLY been needing and missing! By the time we got going, we took care of some errands (including buying a gift card at Coco's where we saw Steve Martin and his little band for some odd reason) and were able to meet Adam's brother Mike and cousin Kyle and my good friend Kim Bloom at Golden Spoon for some good ole socializing and fro yo. I had really been wanting to bake some banana bread too but by the time we got home, we had to pack for the rest of the weekend!

Late afternoon, we made it to Grandma & Grandpa Moore's place and they took us to a nice dinner. As Adam ordered the giant steak, I went for the fish tacos since we never eat fish at home. The waiter eventually layed a huge plate in front of me with three tacos, each with basically a whole fish inside it, a tower of coleslaw, and fries. After all of this healthy cooking I've been doing, there was no way I was going to eat all of that. Or even half of it! Next, on to Uncle David's girlfriend's Dancing With the Stars-type show. It was fun watching local San Diego celebrities dance with professional dancers. Shana did really well and after the audience voted, she and her partner (a Padres announcer / pre-game show reporter) made it to the finals! Unfortunately the chairs were really tight and Grandpa's long legs and back were really hurting him, so we left just before finals started. Uncle David was sure to call and let us know that Shana got second place! Her first dance was really dramatic, which I loved. The winner was a 69-year old woman that moved like she was 40 or younger! A crowd-favorite, of course!

In the morning, we met Grandma at her brunch club and were able to converse with her lively and wonderfully intelligent friends. They were all so sweet and enjoyable. The time was short however as we had to move on to make it to church in Lake Elsinore before Scarlett's first birthday party! The birthday celebration was pretty surreal. There were five of us from my high school. All but one of us are married, and three of them have at least one kid! It's amazing how quickly we grow up with just one major responsibility. But the celebration was fun and I got to feed Scarlett which I of course loved! Especially after Adam's football team clenched victory from the fingers of mine. Boo.

Birthday Girl

She's a good sharer

Kristin, Christina, Josie, Erin & their Babies!

Some more traveling and we finally made it home! Ahh...time to relax...no, wait! I still haven't made that banana bread! And why don't I prep the next healthy dinner since it's a crockpot recipe and it can cook overnight? Great idea! Wait...maybe I took on too much too late. When the banana bread went in the oven, I prepped the Turkey & Wild Rice Casserole crock pot meal and did all the dishes within an hour!

Ashleigh: "Adam, will you take the banana bread out of the oven?"

Adam: "Did you make brownies?"

Ashleigh: "No, it's banana bread. Oh no..."

That's right, the banana bread was brown through and through. Not crispy, but definitely burnt. I was so bummed! I had been looking forward to banana bread! All I can say is that the Turkey & Wild Rice Casserole better be good tonight!

Healthified Pizza

Thursday night's Healthified Pizza was really delicious and only 190 calories! Adam said he really liked it too! I think the texture was perfect and we rand out of chicken, so I used turkey which I think was a teensy bit dry, but it still turned out great! We just added some salad to the side and half a peach for a really yummy meal! Adam's weight by Saturday morning was down 12 pounds from where he started! And he starts referee training tonight! I sometimes find it hard to express just how much I love him. No word or deed could possibly express it enough. I think about our first child and how I could potentially love someone even more; it's mind boggling. And I think how my Heavenly Father loves me even more than that and I know that my burnt banana bread is really nothing to be upset about.

All Is Well, All Is Well

Though I've read it before, I am starting again to read However Long & Hard the Road by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. It seems lately that though I am generally happy, I have been challenged by various factors. When a new unforseen challenge strikes, my response has evolved into, "What this time?" "How do I go about this one?" "Will they ever stop coming?" The truth is, the challenges will never stop but the types of challenges will be different. Some exciting and some dreadful. I suppose I should be thankful that mine are somewhere in the middle. Elder Holland says in his book that no one in mortality is spared pain and sorrow and difficulty...but we must never let it get us down or discourage us. In my reading today, Elder Holland quoted two versus that particularly comforted to me:

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along..." D&C 78:18

"...I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." D&C 84:88

I have big plans. I know they are righteous desires. I often feel hindered from accomplishing them. I know all things in God's plan are according to his timing. He will go before me. He will lead me. He will send His Spirit. He will send His angels to bear me up. I've known His angels to bear me up in the past and they will again. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and for the love He provides especially when I could be discouraged the most. All I must do is endure with a brightness of hope.

Thinking about work, the future, and my happiness, I experienced a confirmation of sorts today. One of my biggest displeasures with my current profession is the lack of hands on or even deffered positive impact on people. In my Child Development reading material for class, the book challenged me to think of times when I felt empowered as a child. I couldn't think of one single thing. Suddenly two experiences came to mind:

1 - When I was in fourth grade, my class was having a party in and outdoors. I think it was a fiesta of some sort. Anyhow, everyone was outside playing and I saw a boy fall and scrape his knee really bad on the black top near our classroom door. I knew exactly what to do and ran into the classroom to grab the first aid kit without really thinking. When I rushed back out to him, the teacher or a parent helper was kneeling by him and I immediately began to clean him up. She allowed me to proceed, cautioned me not to touch the blood with my hands, and I felt very empowered.

2 - In a similar situation only at home, I was playing with my sister and some of the neighborhood kids that were all older than me. One girl got knocked hard into tough and scratchy bushes and couldn't get out. While everyone else stayed to watch and wonder and stress, I immediately ran full speed to her house and calmly alerted her mother what happened and where to find her. She had some cuts and scratches, but was not in danger of major blood loss or anything. Later, her mother through a pizza party and thanked me for how I remained calm and helped. Again, I felt empowered.

The moral is that I feel most happy and empowered when I am helping someone who cannot help themselves in a way I can. I think childhood education could offer that satisfaction in my work as I help children learn, grow, develop skills, and problem-solve.

Veggie Polenta

On a side note...my healthy recipes experiment had its first flop. The Polenta I made was not tasty. Bland would be the word. It certainly looked tasty, but no where neared the delicious Polenta Adam's mom made us in Santa Barbara! I'll have to get her recipe! The recipe I made was only about 190 calories and the vegetables were cooked just right...tender-crisp...but the meal was not the best. Good to know! One night of leftovers and on to a new recipe!



Just remember Hymn #30:
Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins, fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake.
And soon we'll have this tale to tell - 
All is well! All is well!

qui·noa [keen-wah, kee-noh-uh]

Quinoa:
noun - a grain high in nutrients traditionally grown as a staple food high in the Andes

noun - a tall crop plant, Chenopodium quinoa, of the goosefoot family, cultivated in Peru and Chile for its small, ivory-colored seed, which is used as a food staple. 

Broccoli Quinoa, Chicken, & Greens

Yes, I went with the Quinoa dish last night. I kinda of got a late start because I went to get gas on my way home and had a neat little missionary experience, so that took a little while. I ended up getting home just before this time because he got to work two hours of overtime! I say "got to" because he loves his job and loves the extra pay. So it's a win-win!

It took me about an hour to make dinner...I don't think this dish takes nearly that long to make, but I experienced a few distractions AND I'm still learning, so I prep slowly. In the end, I paired the quinoa with some lightly bbq-seasoned chicken and a side salad. Of course, I always dig into my dinner too quickly, so when I remembered to take a picture I had to take a picture of Adam's plate because he is more patient than me. When he finally got to eat, he said it was really good! WIN! And shhhh...he even licked his plate. I'm excited for leftovers! Oh, and this dish...just the quinoa part...is about 160 calories. But I was missing the sun-dried tomatoes. It was good without it anyway. If you haven't tried quinoa, try it! It's a better alternative to rice and you can do a million combinations with it!

Pesto, Presto!

Still no pictures for "Ashton's Big House" yet, but they'll come someday!

On to new topics, my darling, handsome, strong husband was told by the doctor that he needs to lose weight. Adam's hamstring has been really bothering him too, so he knows the doctor is right. So in an effort to be a good wife, I spent a long time looking up healthy recipes and organizing them into a meal calendar. I didn't account for leftovers though, so it's a good thing we only bought the first scheduled week of ingredients. It's already Thursday and we've only made one of them!

Healthy Pesto Pizza

Unfortunately, I get home after Adam and due to an event we had scheduled on Monday evening, he graciously made one of the dishes before I got home from work! And it was delicious! I didn't think to take a picture of the final product until after I chomped a giant bite out of my leftover Pesto Pizza on Tuesday night. Thanks, Honey for making it!

The picture looks blurry because I had to increase the size 50%. And I took it on my phone's camera. Anyway, Adam also made a nice salad and we shared a banana on the side as well. The pizza alone is supposed to be approximately 280 calories, so I think we did pretty well on this one! Whole wheat crust and everything!

It's my turn to cook tonight so I'm thinking I'll either make the Polenta or Quinoa Pilaf. I'm excited! Both recipes require ingredients that we couldn't find at the neighborhood grocer, so I looked online to see where Quinoa and Corn Meal might be sold. Fresh & Easy is where I found mine! But I hear Trader Joe's has them too. Not a bad deal for corn meal though - I got a big bag for $1.99! I'm really hoping Adam loves Quinoa because when I was visiting my sister in Arizona, I tried it for the first time and I loved it! It's a grain (or seed, rather) that cooks like rice, tastes good, and has protein! Although this recipe is much different than how I ate it at my sister's (with a little honey and peaches), I am interested to see how it tastes with broccoli and chicken!

Already this week: Adam has lost 6 pounds! I wish I could lose it that fast! But I am down one pound myself!